Blue White Illustrated

KEY MATCHUPS P E N N   S T A T E   V S .   M I C H I G A N   S T A T E | B Y P H I L G R O S Z W H E N P E N N S T A T E H A S T H E B A L L O T H E R M A T C H U P S PENN STATE RUNNING GAME 109.5 YPG, 3.0 YPC MICHIGAN STATE RUN DEFENSE 102.9 YPG, 3.5 YPC THE LOWDOWN Akeel Lynch has surpassed 100 yards in Penn State's past two games, but the Lions have an uncertain situation in the backfield because of Bill Belton's shoulder injury. They rank 13th in the Big Ten in rushing offense and will be going up against a Michigan State defense that is rated third in the league and eighth in the FBS against the run. Michigan State's leading tackler is FS Kurtis Drummond with 59 stops, but its big-play specialists are DE Shilique Calhoun, OLB Ed Davis and MLB Taiwan Jones. The key matchup here will pit Penn State OGs Miles Dieffenbach and Brian Gaia against Davis and Jones. EDGE Michigan State PENN STATE PASSING GAME 224.4 YPG, 11.2 YPC MICHIGAN STATE PASS DEFENSE 196.1 YPG, 12.3 YPC THE LOWDOWN Penn State's passing game bottomed out against Illinois, as Christian Hackenberg completed only 8 of 16 attempts for 93 yards. In the Lions' past three games, Hackenberg has completed 45 percent of his passes for 373 yards with one TD and four interceptions. WRs DaeSean Hamilton and Geno Lewis combined to catch only two passes for 15 yards against the Illini. The Spartans have allowed only 13 TD receptions and are second in the league with 16 interceptions. The key matchup here will pit Penn State LT Donovan Smith against Calhoun. The Lions need to give Hackenberg a chance. If they can't, it will be a long afternoon. EDGE Michigan State PENN STATE PASSING GAME VS. MICHIGAN STATE PASS DEFENSE MICHIGAN STATE RUNNING GAME 245.5 YPG, 5.3 YPC PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE 81.7 YPG, 2.5 YPC THE LOWDOWN Michigan State ranks fifth in the Big Ten in rushing offense, thanks in large part to senior RB Jeremy Langford, who has amassed 1,242 yards on 219 attempts. Michigan State has totaled a remarkable 38 rushing TDs, but in Penn State, it will be facing the nation's No. 1 run defense. MLB Mike Hull leads the Big Ten with 121 tackles, while DE Deion Barnes and DT Anthony Zettel are also having fine seasons. This will be strength vs. strength. The key matchup will pit C Jack Allen and OGs Connor Kruse and Travis Jackson against Hull, Zettel and DT Austin Johnson. If Penn State is to keep this game close, the defense must do what it did to Ohio State. EDGE Even MICHIGAN STATE RUNNING GAME VS. PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE MICHIGAN STATE PASSING GAME VS. PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE THE LOWDOWN Penn State had some costly breakdowns last week at Illinois, but this is one matchup in which the statis- tics say the Nittany Lions may have a (very) slight edge against the Spartans. That's particularly true at place- kicker, where Sam Ficken has developed into one of the league's best. Ficken has converted on 22 of 26 field goal attempts, with all four of his misses coming on blocks. EDGE Even SPECIAL TEAMS THE LOWDOWN Michigan State may have fallen out of contention for the inaugural College Football Playoff with its loss to Ohio State, but it still has a lot to play for in its season finale. The Spartans have a good shot at a marquee bowl such as the Orange, Fiesta or Cotton, although they might actually prefer the Citrus Bowl, which would pair them against a highly ranked Southeastern Conference opponent. EDGE Michigan State THIS 'N' THAT THE LOWDOWN Now in his eighth season in East Lansing, Mark D'Antonio has turned Michigan State into one of the Big Ten's elite programs. After spending many years in the shadow of Michigan, the Spartans have become the top team in their home state, and they are also annual contenders for the Big Ten title. This will be James Franklin's first encounter with D'Antonio and his staff. EDGE Michigan State COACHING STAFF W H E N M I C H I G A N S T A T E H A S T H E B A L L PENN STATE RUNNING GAME VS. MICHIGAN STATE RUN DEFENSE N O V E M B E R 2 5 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 3 MICHIGAN STATE PASSING GAME 269.0 YPG, 14.9 YPC PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE 185.5 YPG, 10.7 YPC THE LOWDOWN Michigan State might just have the best pass-catch combination in the Big Ten in QB Connor Cook and WR Tony Lippett. Cook has completed 58.7 percent of his attempts for 2,720 yards, with 21 TD passes and only five interceptions. Lippett has 56 receptions for 1,071 yards (19.1 yards per catch) with 10 touchdowns. This is another matchup that pits strength against strength. Penn State ranks fourth in the Big Ten in pass defense and first in pass-efficiency defense. The key matchup will pit Penn State CBs Jordan Lucas and Trevor Williams against Lip- pett. They can't allow the 6-3, 192-pound senior to make a big plays downfield. EDGE Michigan State

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